Ukraine has submitted requests for consultations with Poland, Slovakia and Hungary within the World Trade Organization (WTO) in accordance with the Agreement on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes, First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine - Minister of Economy of Ukraine Yulia Svyrydenko has said.

"In accordance with the Agreement on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes of the Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization, Ukraine submitted demands for consultations with Slovakia, Poland and Hungary within the WTO. This was announced by First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine - Minister of Economy of Ukraine Yulia Svyrydenko," the press service of the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine said on the official website on Monday evening.

"It is fundamentally important for us to prove that individual member states cannot ban the import of Ukrainian goods. Therefore, we are filing lawsuits against them in the WTO. At the same time, we hope that these states will lift their restrictions, and we will not have to sort things out for a long time in courts. We need solidarity with them and protection of the interests of farmers," the press service quotes Svyrydenko.

"The steps we have begun and the pressure from the European Commission and other member states will help restore normal trade between Ukraine and neighboring countries, as well as show solidarity between us," Svyrydenko explained.

According to her, as a result of the unilateral ban on the import of Ukrainian agricultural products by Poland, Slovakia and Hungary, domestic exporters have already suffered and continue to suffer significant losses due to downtime, additional costs and the inability to fulfill foreign economic agreements.

As noted in the report, Ukraine sees this as a violation by the three EU countries of their international obligations. The Ukrainian side also believes that unilateral actions of EU member states in the field of trade are unacceptable and all member countries of the bloc must coordinate and harmonize trade policy, since it falls under the exclusive competence of the EU.